In Echelon We Carry On
by therese xo
Summary: Love and war. I used to think I could live my life without mixing the two. Turns out I was wrong.
1. wahid

**SWAN**

"Stop, stop, stop," I panted as I halted my hurried pace and raised my hands over my head. I clasped my fingers together and rested them on top of my head as I tried to regulate my breathing. My chest pounded and my ears rang. I tried to catch my breath, but the humidity lingering in the air made it seem like I was drowning. "Please, just stop," I begged through my gasps. My heart was still racing from my activities from last night.

Jasper smirked and stopped about a yard ahead of me. He gave me a look that pretty much said _you've got to be kidding me._ I glared at him as he casually drank from his water bottle and chuckled at my demeanor. "You're gettin' old, Bells. You used to be able to keep up with me."

I stuck my tongue out at him as I leaned over, just now being relieved of the pain throbbing in my side. "Don't even start. Your wife made me drink Patron last night. Lots of it. Don't tell me how to run two miles the next morning. I'm so not feeling it today."

Like she heard what was going on, Alice finally managed to catch up with us. Her face was beautiful, as always. Her mid-neck-length hair was pulled into a low, tiny ponytail with wisps falling out everywhere and not a bead of sweat dripped down her naturally gorgeous face. She giggled at me as she passed and jogged in place next to her husband, her icy blue eyes shining with amusement.

"You need to come up with a better excuse, B. It's not my fault you didn't drink enough water last night. It's all in the pace. Stop trying to race him."

I huffed and glared out over the ocean. The sunrise was finally starting to rise over the horizon and the sky began to fill with brighter shades of oranges, pinks, and yellows. "I can't ever let him win. You know that."

I could tell Alice was rolling her eyes as she bounced from foot to foot without even looking at her. How she had so much energy every morning, especially after nights of heavy binge drinking, was still a mystery to me. It was like going to bed half-blacked out at two in the morning and waking up at five, ready for the daily jog, was as easy as riding a damn bike. However, glancing at her tiny, four-foot eleven-inch frame, her lack of body fat, and decent amount of muscle, it was no surprise that her body rid itself of poison before mine could even start.

"You two seriously need to get a grip. Ya'll act like it's a sort of competition when, in fact, we're all in this together," she scoffed as she continued to jog around us in circles. I noticed her accent break through a little in that last sentence.

Even after several years of living in Virginia and California, and other various regions of the country well before that, Alice still let her Mississippi accent run wild sometimes. Before leaving to move onto bigger things, Alice grew up in Biloxi, Mississippi, with her father, stepmother, and younger sister. She claims to hate her accent so much, but every once in a while I'll catch her using it around her husband. I have yet to determine if it was intentional or not, given the fact that Jasper had a permanent southern drawl. He was originally from Houston. He, however, has no qualms of keeping up with the accent he was born with and will flaunt it whenever the opportunity sees fit.

I snorted and planted myself on the wet sands of the Atlantic shore and played with grains of sand in my hands. Jasper sat down next to me while Alice meandered and jogged in circles around us, careful not to stop the flow of her adrenaline. I glanced at my best friend from the corner of my eye and laughed wholeheartedly. Jasper followed my line of vision and shrugged.

"I'll never understand her energy," he drawled out lazily and rested his arms on his bent knees. "She's happier than a two peckered dog."

I gave him a look as he threw out one of his weird southern phrases. "There something in the Mississippi water that makes her like that?"

Jasper snorted. "If there is, then it's drastically different than the water in Texas."

I turned my head back to look over the ocean. This was my favorite time of the day. Being able to take a run along the beach with my best friends early enough to watch the sunrise every morning was something I would never take for granted. But there was something missing.

"I could use a blunt," I declared.

Alice giggled. "I hate to break it to you, Swan, but..."

"Don't remind me," I grumbled.

"Oh, you love it." Alice yanked Jasper off of the ground and slapped me on the shoulder. "Let's finish this run before work. Only a half more mile and we can sit at our desks crying for a couple hours. It's Friday. Calypso tonight, remember?"

I huffed and stood back up, balancing carefully on my black and white Nikes. "How could I forget?" I asked rhetorically. I took one more look at the ocean before starting my jog back up next to Jasper and Alice. A couple minutes later, we finished the rest of our run and we left the shoreline. We walked back on the boardwalk and shook ourselves clean of the sand.

"Bella!"

I cringed as I heard my name being called from behind me. I heard Alice cackle as she stomped her sandy feet on the wooden boardwalk. I turned around slowly and plastered an insincere smile on my face. It's way too early to deal with this. And I'm way too hungover to try and be nice. "Crowley," I greeted swiftly as I stretched out my calf muscles.

"Didn't know you ran along this beach," he laughed, his white teeth shining in the early morning light.

I turned around and followed Jasper and Alice down the boardwalk when I noticed they started to leave without me. I could hear him following behind me like a lost dog. I sighed. "It's a pretty popular place to do it. Been doing it for pretty much a year now."

Alice snorted. I kicked her butt with the side of my shoe. Jasper pinched my arm teasingly as Tyler continued to stalk behind us.

"So, I'm leaving in a couple days. I won't be back for at least seven months…" he trailed off.

I groaned. I could hear the insinuation in his voice from a mile away. We drunkenly hooked up twice, so now he thinks he can come to me for a farewell fuck any time he leaves. I decided to play it cool. "That's awesome. I figured you would be heading out soon; I think I heard about it. You excited?"

As I finished my sentence, we approached our cars. Jasper immediately unlocked his black Challenger and got in without a look back. I remembered Crowley and Jasper had a little scuffle a couple years ago, and he's not really one to get over grudges. He can hold one better than anyone I know.

Alice lingered by the passenger door with her tiny hand on the handle. "I'll talk to you later, B. We'll grab lunch at work?" she questioned. She threw a side-eyed glance at Tyler before pointedly looking back at me. I nodded tightly and kissed her on the cheek before she got in the car. Jasper smirked at me once more before speeding away. I decided that was a good time to try to book it to my cherry red Mustang on the other side of the parking lot next to the boardwalk. Tyler also decided that was a good time to continue our conversation.

"I _am_ excited. It'll be interesting to see a different part of the world," he replied easily as I approached my car. I made an attempt to open my door but he stopped me by pressing his arm against the door. I pursed my lips in annoyance. "You should come out tonight. A bunch of the guys are getting together for a last hurrah of sorts," he grinned down at me.

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted. To get drunk with a bunch of alpha dudes thinking they're going to automatically get some.

It's not like Tyler was a bad looking guy. I could definitely understand where he gets his cocky, _I-can-bone-any-chick-I-want_ attitude. He's muscular, but not obscenely ripped. He's got these gorgeous light brown eyes and dark cropped hair that stands out well against his dark skin. He's…relatively polite. Compared to the other men that I'm constantly around. And from the last drunken escapade we had a couple months ago, I know he definitely knows how to please a girl. So it's not his looks that throw me off. Or even his cocky personality, to be honest.

But see, I have this rule. No dating men within my own profession. And sometimes as much as my horny, lonely self wants to, I can't break that rule for anyone. Especially Tyler Crowley.

And I don't trust myself around attractive men while I'm drinking. I tend to take my clothes off.

 _I hope to God Alice doesn't throw tequila in the mix tonight_. _Then I'll for sure lose my clothes._

"I have plans with Alice and Jasper," I brought up casually as I leaned back against my car door. Considering he wouldn't let me open it yet, this was as far away from him as I could get without being a complete bitch. I still had _some_ respect. "We go out every Friday to Calypso. Where are you guys going?"

"Bar hopping down the boardwalk," he smiled and threw his arms out to his sides like he was showing me the world. "We'll be everywhere, babe."

I felt my lip twitch in an almost-sneer before I could stop it. I bit my lip and forced a smile on my face. "So then I'll probably see you if you stumble into the bar I'm at." I tried to reach for the door to open it again. "Listen, Crowley, I really have to go. I'm assuming you're not going into work today, but I still have to."

He shrugged and set his arms back down, finally picking up on the hint I've been throwing in his face since he first called my name. "I better see you tonight, Swan! I'll miss you!" he shouted playfully (I think) as I slinked my way out of his awkward attempt to hug me and into my car.

I smiled a little and nodded my head once. "I'm sure you will."

With that last little retort, I shut the door in his face. As he waved, I got the hell out of there.

 **. /**

The rest of the day was spent with my face looking at a computer screen and going over plans and reports. I listened to my usual playlist throughout the day: a couple Led Zeppelin songs, a couple podcasts, and a couple Disney songs just to spice it up a bit. I wasn't bothered a lot at work today—it was a Friday and Independence Day was coming up. People around me just kind of minded their own business and got work done so we could get the hell out of there faster. I met up with Alice at lunch in a courtyard. We giggled like dumb fourteen year olds over Crowley's annoying advances and discussed the latest NASA developments. Alice's eyes immediately lit up when talking about the latest pictures to surface from the probe that zoomed past Pluto. I rolled my eyes. That girl would not die happy until she was working for NASA.

We went our own ways after our lunch and finished up the next couple hours of work. It was similar to the earlier part of the day—boring. When it was finally time to clock out for the day, I shot Alice a quick text telling her I was going to head to my apartment to grab my clothes before I head to her house. I would just shower there and get ready. Jasper would be at work until at least six so I had a couple hours to kill with my best friend.

She had a glass of wine ready for me when I entered the door. "If you want a shower beer, you're gonna have to deal with the shitty PBR Jasper has in the fridge. We ran out of the good shit a while ago and I haven't made it to the store."

I laughed and took the glass of Franzia White Zinfandel out of her hands. As much as Alice desperately wanted to be a classy June Cleaver-housewife kind of person, she constantly failed. And it's not like I care. I live for shitty beer and boxed wine. I like to pretend that I'm still a freshman in college sometimes.

"Ali, you're not supposed to drink nice beer in the shower. Shower beer is strictly Keystone, Natty, or PBR. It's a written rule somewhere in the New Testament."

She giggled and shook her head at me. She followed me up the stairs of her quaint townhouse. I could hear the light tap of her feet enter the bathroom with me. "I figured you'd want to start pre-gaming early after your encounter with Crowley and a typical shit day at work. Work off your previous hangover yet?"

"You know the best cure for a hangover is more alcohol."

She squealed and danced around in her little dress. "I know. I'm already two glasses in so you have some catching up to do!"

As she bolted out of the bathroom, I closed the door and stripped. After a quick shower, I walked into their guest bedroom, which pretty much became my bedroom because I stayed over so often, and applied a limited supply of makeup and slipped on a dress similar to Alice's. It's not every day that I get to wear dresses like this, so when I'm able to, I tend to go all out. We both do. I decided to let my hair air dry. That is the one thing that I never really care much about because it looks good enough when I let it dry by itself.

As I'm walking down the stairs to reunite with Alice, I finished my glass of wine and Jasper strolled in the door. I glanced at his blue uniform and grinned as I made it off the stairs. "How was work?"

He shrugged his shoulders and kissed Alice on the forehead. He dropped his bag on the couch and brushed past me on his way up the stairs, not saying a word. I furrowed my eyebrows as he stomped upstairs and closed the bathroom door loudly behind him. I glanced back at Alice and she shrugged.

"Someone probably told him the Cowboys were going to do better without Romo or something," she smirked and took a big gulp of her wine and then held the cup out towards me. "Come on, you gotta catch up."

 **. /**

Calypso was strangely lively tonight. It's not like it's a dead, hole in the wall bar at all, but it's usually not this popular amongst the younger crowds. But I guess I had to take in the fact that it was July and it was summer. Virginia Beach was more of a tourism hotspot than anything else, especially this time of year. It's only natural for the median age in the city to drop during the summer months. I reveled in the opportunity to fall into the background and just absorb the crazy around me.

Alice was pretty buzzed by the time we managed to leave her townhouse. She decided to sneak in shots of tequila with her Franzia. I know she'll regret that tomorrow. Jasper was still on the weird side, but after a couple drinks at Calypso, he loosened up and finally started to act like the guy I've known for almost two years now. Meanwhile, Alice and I decided tonight's theme would be _Stepford Wives_. Every Friday that we get to go out, we think of a theme to go along with and drink according to that. Since we started with wine tonight (even though it was cheap boxed wine), we had to continue on with the rich, cookie-cutter neighborhood housewives' mentality. So that meant lots of clear liquor. And that drink of choice meant dirty martinis. And this bar really did know how to make them.

Two martinis in and I'm ready for the night to begin.

Jasper and Alice are chatting it up at our table with some guy Jasper knows from work. I don't know him, and his crooked teeth are making it hard for my drunken mind to keep a straight face with him and keep my sarcastic mouth shut, so I got up and slowly walked to the bar. I sat down at a stool and rested my forearms on the smooth wood with a grunt.

"Rough night?" Seth asked as he sauntered over. He was mixing some kind of shot in the shaker as he grinned down at me. "It's only ten."

"Oh, Sethy, I think I'm still drunk from what Alice made me do last night," I replied and shook my head at our friend. We had come here so much that we befriended the bartender. Seth was an awesome guy. He would make us free shots and sometimes he'd come to our houses for the various parties we'd throw.

Seth threw his head back and barked out a laugh while he nodded understandingly. "I feel your pain, Bells." He knew almost as much as I did how much Alice can party and how no one is safe when they're around her and alcohol.

I nodded my chin up at the shot he was creating. "What's that? It looks fruity and yummy."

"Red Headed Slut," he smirked as he poured the drink into a shot glass.

I gagged. "That better not be my free shot for the night. You know I hate Jäger, Seth!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Who said I'm making your skinny ass any shots tonight? This is for the redhead down at the end of the bar," he said and jabbed a finger to his left.

I turned my head and saw a handsome man with some Sheamus-looking red hair. He caught Seth's eye and smiled a little bit at him. I turned my gaze back to my friend and chuckled. "Oh, you're going all in tonight, aren't you?"

He laughed at my slurred words and sighed. "You could say I'm… _feeling lucky_."

"Ah!" I giggled behind my hand and slapped his forearm. "Hopefully you don't give him the wrong impression by handing him a shot that literally says _slut_."

He gave me a look. "Do you not know how I work my magic by now, babe? Just watch."

I rolled my eyes and shooed him away to go give his shot to his latest conquest. I stared down at my drink, noticing it was getting a little empty, and frowned.

I heard a click from my right. It bared resemblance to a shutter going off on a camera.

I glanced over to find the source of the sound and smirked at the man holding a large camera from the stool next to me. I was feeling pretty confident and talkative after joking around with Seth, so I shifted in my seat to face the man. "You know, normally I would be suspicious of strange men who take my picture at a bar."

He gently lowered the professional camera and chuckled at my statement. I know I was probably slurring my words around this extremely handsome man, but I couldn't find it in me to care. He set the camera down on the sticky bar and took a sip of his Great Lakes beer. "Normally I wouldn't take pictures of drunk women in bars, but I couldn't resist."

I licked my lips to ease the chapped skin and took a sip of my martini. He watched my every movement. Not in a creepy way, but calculating. Almost like he was documenting every action I made and stashed it in a file somewhere in his mind. I raised an eyebrow. "I guess it's nice to know that you're not _usually_ a creeper, only in small doses."

He laughed, more heartily this time, and held out his hand that wasn't attached to the IPA. I noticed his teeth were white and straight. _Checkmate_. "Edward, Edward Cullen."

I smiled at his introduction and placed my hand in his. "Bond, Bella Bond." I tried to do a British accent, but I'm pretty sure I failed miserably.

The smile on his face only grew larger at my own lame introduction. I giggled at how beautiful it was and shook his hand once. "Okay, so maybe the way I introduced myself sounded too lame," he chuckled and removed his hand from mine. I almost frowned at the lost contact. He ran that same hand through his auburn hair and sighed. "But at least I got a real name from you. Unless James suddenly changed his name to Bella."

I smiled and shook my head. I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure if you'll ever know. Bella could just be a name I made up to throw off creepy guys in bars."

He stared at me for a moment with a smile dancing on his lips and I caught myself staring right back. I traced the rim of my martini glass with my pinky finger as I scanned his face. His green eyes shined with happiness as he nursed his beer. His jaw was strong and had just a hint of stubble on it. The hair that previously had his calloused hand stuck in was wild and untamed, but it worked with his facial structure. I found myself in awe of just how magnificent this guy looked. Did he fall out of the _GQ_ magazine on my desk at work or something?

I decided it was time to end our staring contest and I chugged the rest of my martini. I watched as his eyes fell to my throat when some of the vodka and vermouth concoction dribbled down my chin. I giggled and wiped it off, causing his eyes to drag themselves back up to my face. "So tell me Edward, Edward Cullen. Why _were_ you taking my picture?"

He leaned back in his stool and took another sip of his beer. I watched as his Adam's apple bobbed with the motion of his esophagus. "Have you ever come across something so beautiful that you wish you could capture it mentally? Like a sunset? Or an incoming storm? Sometimes things so beautiful only last for such a fleeting moment. Luckily, when the camera was invented, we didn't have to worry so much about missing the moment."

I gawked at him for a moment, trying to process his words. I grabbed the toothpick that held two green olives together and stuck it in my mouth. I ate both of the alcohol-soaked olives as I narrowed my eyes at him. "Is this your runaround attempt at calling me beautiful?"

His smile set in this crooked way that made my heart stop for a moment, I swear. "Your face is the purest thing I've seen since I've been in Virginia Beach." He said this while staring at my mouth.

Okay, so maybe I was working it a little too hard. I was well aware of how my lips must have looked when I was taking the olives off of the toothpick. Too bad Alice wasn't witnessing this. She'd be so proud.

I felt a traitorous blush creep its way to my cheeks with his words. I prayed it would stop at a cute blush and not turn into a hideous red mess. But with the way this guy was looking at me and talking, that hideous mess was bound to happen. I cleared my throat and sent a silent thank you to Seth when he automatically brought me another martini. He snuck a look at Edward and gave me an approving nod before slipping away.

"Are you from around here? I've never noticed you before…" _And I would have, trust me_.

He was shaking his head before I even finished my question. "Not originally. I moved here about three months ago looking for a change in scenery. My parents moved here a couple years ago and have been raving about it, so I decided to give it a shot."

I nodded absentmindedly. For some reason, I wanted to know more about this cameraman. "Then where are you originally from?" I fired off questions like I was interviewing him. Turns out alcohol makes me inquisitive.

He laughed and flagged down Seth and asked for another beer. I noticed he stuck with this Great Lakes stuff. As he took the first sip of his cold beer, I watched eagerly. "Originally, I'm from Chicago. I, uh, moved around a bit when I turned eighteen and then decided to get my degree. I went to Ohio for college when I got accepted into one of their journalism school. It's one of the best in the country, so I couldn't pass it up."

"Journalism? Do a lot of partying in the middle of nowhere? I hear Ohio is boring," I grinned.

He laughed and shook his head. "That's for a whole other conversation, my dear."

I felt my heart soar with this words. I sipped at my martini and scanned the bar, keeping a close eye on the door as usual. My eyes moved past casual bar-goers before landing on my friends in the corner table across the bar. Alice was still sitting next to Jasper as he talked with Snaggletooth. He was talking animatedly with the guy. He actually looked really angry—I wonder what his weird friend said to set him off. Alice, right next to him, had her head in her hands with an utterly bored expression on her face as she stirred her martini with her index finger. Like she could sense someone was watching her, she looked up and caught me looking at her and rolled her eyes, pointing to Jasper and plastering a fake dead expression on her face. She glanced next to me and her eyebrows shot to her hairline. Then she grinned and whispered in Jasper's ear. _Shit, busted_.

I turned back to Edward to see he was scrolling through the pictures in his camera. I could see his mouth lift up into a gorgeous smile every time he looked at a new one.

I crossed my leg over my knee and fixed my dress, making sure I wasn't showing too much. "So then what kind of journalism did you study in college, habibi?"

His head shot up at my term and I smiled. I tried to make it as alluring as I could. I probably looked like I was trying to pass gas.

"Photojournalism," he responded simply. My ears perked up at the different occupation. But I wasn't shocked. "What do you do?"

Seth strolled over with another martini and I immediately took a sip. He knows me so well. I set it down and fiddled with my fingers before looking back up at an expectant Edward.

I let a small smile play on my face. I wasn't going to be truthful right yet. "I'm a linguist actually," I answered. I glanced up at him from under my eyelashes as I continued to play with the glass in front of me.

Okay, I won't be _completely_ truthful.

Edward's eyebrows rose. He looked skeptical. "Academics?"

"I teach sometimes, yes," I supplied. Still not totally lying.

He was silent for a moment. He had some cocky, crooked grin on his face that made my stomach flip flop. "I call bullshit."

This time my eyebrows were the ones that shot up to my hairline. "I'm sorry?"

"No way in hell you are a linguistics professor. It doesn't fit."

For some reason, I felt offended. Even though he was right. "Hey, I said I teach _sometimes_."

He took a long sip of his beer. "Why don't you like talking about what you do?" He paused for a moment. "Oh, I get it. You'd have to kill me."

I snorted unattractively into my glass and nodded. "Bella Bond, remember?"

He smirked. "There is definitely something more complex about yourself you're hiding; I just have to figure it out."

I waved him on, curious to see where he goes with this.

He took one more swig of his beer before waving down Seth for another round and turning back to face me. "Linguistics isn't just something you hear every day, so I do feel like you actually do work with it in some capacity," he started. I kept my mouth quiet. He narrowed his eyes and I squirmed under his scrutiny. "You're poised and neat, but not in an upper class, snotty way. You haven't once brought up a thesis you're working on, so I doubt you teach college courses."

I laughed a little at that, but I let him continue.

"You're well-spoken and look pretty fit…" he trailed off. I watched as his eyes flickered over my body.

 _Fuck off, red mess_ …

"See, for some reason I picture you working for the government, but I can't imagine you in a pantsuit."

I didn't let anything show on my face. "I thought the name Bella Bond already gave it away that I'm a secret agent."

He ignored me, continuing on like I never even said anything. I gulped down some martini. "Every time your drink spills, you clean it up. You have incredible posture. Every couple of seconds your eyes around, almost like you're taking in your surroundings subconsciously."

My eyes narrowed on their own accord as I listened to this stranger point out my characteristics, or flaws, I'm not sure.

Edward then glanced around him. He must have found what he needed because he slowly nodded and then turned back to me. "I'm going to guess Army?"

Military bearing? Gone. My mouth dropped open and I shook my head. "Um…Air Force, actually."

Edward leaned back from the bar and took a sip of his beer. He looked incredibly satisfied with himself. "Am I good or what?"

I pursed my lips. "It was kind of impressive, but technically you did guess wrong. What was it that gave it away?"

Edward shrugged his athletic shoulders. "Journalist, remember?" he smirked. I gave him a look and he laughed at me. "I don't give my techniques away."

I glared at him.

He took it with stride. His mouth twisted into that damn grin again. "So Bella Bond's in the mighty U.S. Air Force, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. I held out my hand, officially introducing myself. "Captain Isabella Swan, airborne cryptologic language analyst—nice to meet you."

Edward's mouth dropped open—only a little bit though. He stared at my hand for a moment before letting a smile creep up onto his face and he placed his hand in mind for the second time tonight. I smiled like a lunatic as he gently shook my hand. He whistled. "An officer? Even more impressive. What language do you work with?"

"Arabic," I answered immediately with a smile. "Love the culture—love the area."

"I bet you had a great time in California studying."

I sighed. "It's gorgeous out there, but I love it here."

"I'm starting to see why this place is so nice," he commented lightly, staring straight at me.

I felt my face start to burn. I quickly diverted attention back to him. "What about you? What do you do?"

His eyes froze and he looked contemplative for a moment. "What do I do now?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Well, yeah."

He jutted his chin out to his camera on the table. "I'm a photojournalist. Freelancer right now. I work to capture stories of conflict and suffering, both military and civilian fronts, mainly in the Middle East, I work domestically as well."

"Wow," I murmured. "What made you get into that?"

Edward's mood shifted dramatically. He played with the sleeve of his shirt that was rolled up to his forearm. "Both sides of the story deserve to be heard, right?"

He seemed upset as he stared down at his beer and fingered his sleeve. My eyes caught the flash of colors on his forearm for a moment before he covered it up. It was an extremely intricate tattoo, but it wasn't hard to pinpoint the eagle, globe, and anchor.

"You're a Marine?" I questioned, kind of shocked. It's not that he didn't look the part, he just didn't act like the majority of Marines that I've met. But it makes sense. I didn't even realize that he asked me how I enjoyed California when it's not really general public knowledge that military personnel go there to study their language for their field.

He laughed dryly and shook his head. "In a former life. I was only in for four years. Infantry out of Jacksonville."

I nodded slowly, absorbing the new information. I wanted to ask more, but something told me not to. He didn't really seem forthcoming about information from his past life as a Marine. With a stroke of confidence, I rested my hand on his jean-covered thigh. He raised an eyebrow as he stared at me. I sort of changed the subject. "So then what are you—"

Alice must have decided that that moment was the perfect opportunity to present herself.

"Hi!" she shrieked happily and threw her arms around my body. I had to let go of Edward in order to control Alice. I laughed and held onto her as she stumbled around a bit on her four inch heels. "Bobbie, thank god I found you. You have to help me. You left me all alone over there and Walter won't stop talking to this weird guy he knows from work about the Civil War. We're at a fucking bar for crying out loud and they're being fuckin' nerds. And his breath stinks. Seth should slip some breath mints into his next drink. Speaking of drinks, I need another martini. Oh, hi!" she giggled and stuck her hand out for Edward to take, pretending like she just now noticed him. "I'm Joanna."

I rolled my eyes. "Nope, no way. Her name is definitely not Joanna, it's Alice," I sent her a look and glanced back at Edward. "Tonight's theme is _Stepford Wives_ ," I explained simply.

He furrowed his eyebrows. I don't think he understood exactly what I was trying to explain. However, he did shake Alice's hand and gave her a bright smile. "Alice, it's great to meet you. I'm Edward."

Alice contemplated that for a minute. "Edward is old fashion-y sounding, like a stuck up white man, right Bobbie? Close to Roger?"

My eyes widened at her description of his name. "Ali, stop!" I felt my face flush again and she noticed.

Her smile widened. She dragged a stool over to place in front of us. "So, Edward. Why is a man like yourself bringing a professional camera to bar alone? Are you some undercover? A fed? Or just a creeper?"

I drowned myself in my drink.

Edward laughed. "If I was a fed, I'd be doing a pretty shitty job of hiding it." Alice smirked. He continued. "If only. I'm just a boring photojournalist who decided to hit the town for a night."

"That's unfortunate," she replied. Alice then leaned in and whispered in his ear conspiratorially. "I don't really like the media."

I smacked myself on the forehead and glared at her. She studiously ignored me and Edward continued on like my best friend didn't just insult his profession. "Good thing I'm not the media," he said in an equally conspiratorial tone as he flashed her a smile.

I saw her visibly jolt as he gave her his retort. "Woah," she muttered and leaned over to me. I held onto her arm as she almost toppled off of the stool. "It's too bad that I'm already married. That smile…" she trailed off and waggled her eyebrows at me. If this was her idea of being my wingman, she needed some serious training.

"Speaking of being _married_ ," I hissed and nodded my head towards Jasper. "It looks like your husband got rid of Snaggletooth and he's on his way over."

Alice snickered behind her hand at my nickname before waving it enthusiastically towards her husband. "Walter, come here!"

Jasper stopped in front of Seth before heading over to us. He shook his hand and ordered another Jack and Coke. As he approached us, he gave me his usual smirk and positioned himself behind Alice. He wrapped his left arm around her and sipped at his drink with the other. Alice leaned back into his chest. "Howdy, ya'll."

"Jasper, this is Edward. Edward, this is Jasper, Alice's husband," I made the necessary introductions and continued drinking my martini. I decided to cut right to the chase. "Edward, Jasper is a lieutenant in the Navy while Alice holds the same rank I do in the Air Force."

Edward's eyebrows shot up as he chuckled. "Looks like I'm an outlier in this bar. Is this an officer hangout?"

I shrugged my shoulders and rolled my eyes. "Normally this bar is full of laid back folks. Tonight's super packed for some reason. And it just so happens that the only people you're talking to in here are officers. So no, you're not an outlier."

"Enough talk about outliers," Alice whine and chugged the rest of her martini. "I hear that mathematic shit too much."

Jasper laughed and rubbed her back. "Poor little space cadet Whitlock."

Edward looked confused. I explained. "Alice works in space operations. She works with satellites and shit and she's constantly surrounded by math. She usually likes to introduce herself as 'Future NASA Astronaut Brandon Whitlock'." I rolled my eyes as I said this.

"Wow," Edward murmured around the brim of his beer bottle. "That's pretty impressive, Joanna."

Jasper outwardly groaned. "Don't do it, man. Don't let their weird themes get to you."

Alice, on the other hand, looked extremely thrilled. "See! At least he gets it!" She elbowed Jasper in the gut and placed her hand on top of Edward's. "I think I already like you."

I mumbled something unintelligible around my martini glass. I decided to just hide my face in my drink as long as possible as Alice continued to flap her large mouth.

Edward continued on, cool as a cucumber. "That sounds like a pretty tough job."

Alice shrugged like it was no big deal. "I've always loved math and physics and astronomy. It comes easy to me. Outer space is my favorite."

Jasper rolled up the sleeves to his button down shirt up to his elbows. I noticed Edward was in a similar outfit. He glanced at Jasper after Alice was finished talking. "What about you, Jasper? Navy officer, huh? Trying to be Maverick?" he asked and laughed at his own cliché joke.

I snorted unattractively into my drink while Alice laughed her ass off. I braced for the shit storm that was about to be released. For some reason, Jasper always threw a little bitch fit when people assumed that he had a _Top Gun_ -esque job, like being a Navy fighter pilot. He had some serious issues with the pilots at Norfolk, where he is stationed. He was a little more easygoing around those pilots at Langley, where Alice and I are stationed, but as mentioned earlier with Crowley, he still has that certain issue. I have no idea what created that issue with him, but it's been going strong since I've known him.

Jasper narrowed his eyes. "Those damn flyboys wish I was a part of their weird ass posse. But I actually have the important job."

"Oh, come on, Jasper. You know we're all in this together and have equally important jobs," Alice asserted and rubbed her husband's forearms. She seems to always be the one to remind us that we're in it together. She's not into the whole branch rivalry thing.

"You _would_ defend them after you nailed one right when you got to Langley from Vandenberg," Jasper muttered quietly. We all still heard it.

Alice's face twisted into a scowl as she ripped herself away from his grasp. I punched Jasper in the arm as I gasped out loud. He winced a bit and rubbed it. "Shut the fuck up, Whitlock. I thought we agreed to leave everything that happened back then all the way in the past." He knew we didn't bring up that incident, or any other of them, anymore. That was almost four years ago. Things like that need to be let go.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Alice groaned. I noticed Edward's head kept snapping back and forth during our exchange. "Get your head out of your ass today and talk to us like a normal human being. I don't know what happened to you at work today, but we come here to get away from it all, remember? So continue drinking your Jack and shut the fuck up."

"I'm just havin' a normal conversation. It's you that's havin' a problem with everything I'm sayin' tonight," Jasper protested.

"This is not normal conversation. You're throwing me under the bus!"

I pressed my lips together and glanced at Edward across from me. I could tell he was feeling awkward—he wasn't used to these Whitlock newlywed fights. I decided to step away from the firing zone and drag Edward away as well. As we stumbled across the crowded bar, I heard Jasper and Alice continue to fight. Their voices got farther and farther away as Edward and I found a secluded booth at the far end of the bar and sat down. He set his camera down cautiously and stared at his hands around his beer.

"I, uh, didn't mean to start a fight between them."

I waved it off with a flick of my wrist. "Don't worry about it. They passionately love each other and so when they have a fight, the passion turns into red-hot anger. It's never anything bad. They'll be over it and under each other in no time."

Edward cracked a smile at that but it didn't really reach his eyes. I immediately recognized the change in atmosphere around us. He didn't have that happiness in his green eyes from before. His mouth was twitching as he held a tiny smile on his face, almost like he was keeping himself from frowning. His knuckles were white as he gripped his beer bottle hard. I noticed his breathing picked up as well.

"Hey," I whispered and put my hand on his tense one on his beer. "Seriously, you didn't do anything. It's just their warped love. One time, a couple weeks after they got back from their honeymoon, Jasper left some fast food wrappers in Alice's new Porsche and she flipped her shit. They screamed at each other and I hid upstairs and only came back down when I heard crashing like ten minutes later. Turns out there wasn't any violence, it was just them fucking on the table and letting the dishes fall to the ground. Walking in on Jasper's naked ass was pretty interesting."

He released a long breath and loosened his hold on the beer. He shook his head, almost like he was trying to rid his brain of some kind of thought.

"Some first impression, huh?" I joked and leaned back in the booth. "They're normally the happiest people I'm surrounded by, but something must have happened to Jasper at work today. That's not an excuse to act like an ass though, I know. It doesn't help that they're both stubborn as hell."

Edward watched me as I tried to excuse my best friends' behavior. "Does it take a toll on you guys? Your jobs, I mean."

I lifted one shoulder and crossed my legs once again, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. I was curious as to why he was asking me. Being a former Marine, I could only imagine what he went through. "I mean…yeah, to an extent. But I love what I do and I love the region I work in, so…" I trailed off with a shrug.

He smiled coolly. "I studied political science as well as photojournalism when I was in college, you know." I raised an eyebrow at that information. "Hence why I chose this path for my projects. Looks like we both like to spend time in the Middle East."

I liked the way he appreciated what he did for work. "I like a man who can appreciate world travel with me."

I snapped my mouth shut and felt my face turn into flames when I accidentally said the words out loud. Edward guffawed and tried to ease my embarrassment. "And I like that in a woman."

I quickly changed the subject. "Alice is a space and missile operations officer, like I said earlier. She works with satellites and intelligence and imaging and lots of monitoring. I don't even know. She's so fucking smart, it's ridiculous. She studied astrophysics in college and she tries to explain it all to me but I just blank. She spends most of her days dreaming about space and NASA," I giggled and sipped at my drink.

I love Alice Brandon Whitlock with everything in me. She's been my best friend since day one at Langley. She comes from Mississippi, where she went to Ole Miss before leaving for OTS and joining the Air Force. She had to go to Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama for training in her field before being stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. A couple years later, she changed her permanent duty station to Langley in Virginia. I arrived a couple months later after finishing my two-year long schooling in California, Washington, and Texas. We've been attached by the hip ever since.

I continued on aloud. "Jasper is at Norfolk. He's an EOD technician. He loves it though. His whole life has been military. He grew up in Texas with a former Ranger for a father," I stopped and licked my lips. I felt a sense of hesitation wash over me and I took a drink. Edward watched on. "He left Texas after high school 'cause he got accepted into the Naval Academy up in Annapolis. He's the most badass dude I know. He's been in a couple years longer than us and he's pretty damn close to becoming Lieutenant Commander Whitlock."

Edward listened on with full attention. He never once broke eye contact or looked bored out of his mind while I rambled on and on about things he probably didn't care about. His hand twitched towards his camera and he licked his lips. "I'm sorry, it's just…" he paused and I suddenly felt hyperaware of his intense gaze. I shifted a little. "I've never seen someone with so much…excitement while talking about their friends." I blushed and he grinned. "You're beautiful."

I felt my heartrate speed up and my hands got clammy around my glass. My voice came out breathy when I was finally able to speak. "Do you want to…?" I trailed off and jerked my head to the side towards the door.

He was already up and out of his seat with his camera in his hand. "Let's go," he whispered and dragged my giggly, stumbling ass out of the bar.

Less than a half hour later, I'm in bed with the man.

* * *

 **Hello. I'm new to this and I appreciate any feedback :)**


	2. ithneen

I awoke later when I could feel my heart racing out of my chest. My eyes fluttered open, only to have them snap back shut when the minimal amount of light shining into the room reached my retinas. I moaned softly and tried to swallow to alleviate the dry mouth and sore throat I was currently experiencing. Once again, I tried to pry my eyes open. And that was a pretty big mistake on my part. At that moment, the nausea swept over me and I quickly rolled out of bed and bolted to my bathroom. I leaned over the toilet and let whatever the hell I did to myself last night come flying back out.

I fell down on my ass and scooted far away from the toilet until I was leaning against my bathtub. The cool tile felt awesome on my clammy, naked skin.

 _Naked?_

I quickly glanced down when I realized that my skin was touching the floor. My eyes widened when I saw that I was completely naked. I gasped and stood up straight, memories flying at me like crazy. I grabbed my boobs to cover up whatever dignity I had left as I cautiously walked back into my bedroom and stared at my bed.

 _Aw, fuck. He's still hot as hell._

I bit my lip as I watched Edward's muscular back rise and fall with his breathing. He was laying on his stomach, sprawled out all over my king sized bed. His left foot was hanging off the edge and his arm was buried under my pillow. His face was pressed against the pillow with his mouth wide open. I could see the shine of drool pooling around his mouth and I giggled.

Quietly, I walked to my dresser and pulled out a pair of yoga pants, a loose fitting shirt, a sports bra, and a thong. I figured I should probably get dressed and ready for the day of lounging.

Then, I started my hangover ritual.

First, I brushed my teeth to get rid of the excess alcohol taste and bad breath. Once my mouth is minty tasting, I pop two Excedrin in my mouth and take a large gulp of water from my faucet. Already starting to feel a little better once brushing my teeth, I took a quick shower and got out of the bathroom.

I quickly walked out into the kitchen where I noticed all of our clothes from last night were strewn. I laughed to myself as I remembered us stumbling all over my apartment before we found our way into my bedroom. I stepped over the discarded clothes and opened my fridge to pull out my iced coffee and made myself a cup with soy milk. I glanced at the clock. 09:10. Wow, I slept in.

I walked over to my clothes and pulled my phone out of my purse that was thrown next to it. I turned it on and read all of the texts I received through the night and into the morning. The last one made me laugh out loud.

 _Here's to hoping Roger is as good in the sack as he is taking creepy pictures in bars. Cheers._

I pressed the call button and waited for her piercing voice.

" _Isabella_ ," she greeted in a clipped tone. " _I'm surprised you're talking to me considering you left without even saying goodbye last night_."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't give me that. We both know you were rooting for me all night long."

" _So it happened?_ "

I scoffed. "We walked out of a bar together after midnight. What did you think would happen?"

She squealed and I ripped the phone away from my ear and my pounding headache. " _I'm so proud of you! He is one hot piece of meat. How was it? Shut up Jasper, you know I think you're the hottest piece._ "

I sat back on the bar stool by my breakfast bar and drank more of my coffee. "From what I remembered, I'd give it a…twelve out of ten."

She laughed exuberantly over the receiver. " _Sharmota_ ," she clicked her tongue in mock disapproval. I buried my face in my hand and giggled like a freaking schoolgirl. " _He seemed really cool. Is this more than a hit it and quit it?_ "

I shrugged before I realized that she couldn't see me. "I'm not sure," I whispered into the phone. "This guy's different, Ali. There's something there that makes me feel comfortable in my own skin around him."

" _Aw_ ," she swooned from over the phone. " _Tell me about your night!_ "

"I'm not telling you about my amazing sex from last night, Alice."

I could practically hear her pouting from all the way over here. " _I thought I was your best friend._ " I heard Jasper laugh loudly in the background. He was probably just as dumbfounded by his wife's strange mindset as I was. Alice yelled at him to stop laughing at her and turned back to me. " _Fine, you might not have to talk about it now, but we're getting coffee tomorrow morning. And it will come out._ "

I figured as much. "Jasper better today?"

She sighed. " _He might be getting deployed in a month or so and he's all pissy about it._ "

"Oh," I mumbled, not really sure what else to say. We all know it's a given for any of our occupations. I'm constantly flying overseas, but that doesn't mean I'm exempt from months-long deployments. Alice had already served an eight-month deployment in Japan right before they got married. I spent about seven months in Iraq about a couple months after I got stationed here. Jasper apparently offered to get deployed a lot more before he met Alice. He hasn't been on one in a while.

" _Yeah, but you know him. He's going to be excited about the opportunity. It's been forever for him and I know he misses it, but he's just worried about me._ "

"Like you don't know how to take care of yourself…" I grumbled. "Who knows, maybe you'll both get deployed at the same time," I laughed. The thought made me cringe, though. If both of them were gone, where would I spend my free time?

Alice began talking again, but I looked up when I heard a throat being cleared. I audibly gasped when I saw Edward casually leaning against my bedroom door with nothing but my sheet wrapped around his waist. The phone in my hand loosened from my grip as I watched him stroll over to where I was sitting. I gaped at his chest as he got closer and closer.

I felt myself swallow in anticipation when he grabbed the phone from my hand and proudly proclaimed, "Sorry, Joanna. Bella has to go now", before ending the call.

I gazed up at him. He set the phone down on the breakfast bar and leaned down to press his smooth lips to mine. My eyes fluttered closed and I gripped his toned waist, pulling him in closer to me. He smiled underneath my lips and pushed my hair away from my shoulders. "Good morning," he murmured around my mouth.

I smiled brightly up at him. "Good morning." I kissed his lips once more and pushed him back. "Coffee?"

He glanced at my own glass and raised an eyebrow at me. "Iced?"

I shrugged. "I prefer it any day over hot coffee."

He sat down next to me, still sporting only the white sheet. I giggled at his outfit and he sent me a playful look. "I kind of had to improvise when I realized none of my clothes were in your room. I hope you don't mind that I destroyed your bed."

I smirked. "It's fine, we already did enough of that last night."

"Sleep well?" he asked.

I hid my face from him so he couldn't see that damn red mess creep its way up to my face. I nodded, nevertheless.

"I did too," he whispered. I looked at him from the corner of my eye to see he was staring right at me. I smiled.

"I would make breakfast for you, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't burn it and ruin everything."

He laughed. "I appreciate the thought. And I wish I could stay longer, but I have to get going. My sister is coming down from DC to visit for the long weekend."

I turned to look at him. "You have a sister in DC?"

He nodded. He stared down at his sheet-covered legs as he spoke softly of her. "She's my younger sister. She moved there from Chicago when her husband got a job in the city."

I felt uncomfortable by the way he talked about his sister, so I didn't venture any further into it. To be honest, I was still shocked that he said he wished he could stay longer. I'm not sure what I expected last night, but it definitely wasn't anything long-term. The last time I was in a long-term relationship was senior year of college. I'm pretty sure I've forgotten how to operate in relationships by now.

I stood up slowly, careful not to trip in front of him, and went to retrieve his clothes. He watched me from the stool as I stumbled my way over there. I walked back and handed him the boxers and business casual attire.

He took them slowly while looking down at my hand wrapped around the clothes. I suddenly felt this weird sense of dread creep its way into my system.

I'm not a rookie when it comes to sex, or even one night stands. I have a fairly healthy sex life. I know the methods of the "morning after". Honestly, this is the farthest I've ever gotten with someone in that sense. I knew this guy's last name for God's sake and the fact that his sister, who lives like three hours away, is visiting. That wasn't supposed to happen. These encounters are simply to get my mind away from the bullshit I have to deal with at work. If names and occupations and families get involved, it gets sticky.

But for some reason I wanted to know more about this guy. I wanted to understand every facial expression that crosses his handsome face and what triggers them. I want to hear more about his days in college and what it's like to be a photojournalist. I want to find out why he doesn't talk about his time in the military. I want to ask him what the hell Great Lakes beer tastes like. And I want to tell him the same about me.

I felt my throat constrict as he took the clothes out of my hands. "Uh," I choked out. I wasn't really sure what I was even trying to say, anyway. I glanced down at my bare feet and sighed. "You can use the bathroom to change if you want." I was suddenly feeling very exposed. Awkward.

He smiled a bit and stood up. He dropped the sheet right there and yanked on his used boxers. I gaped at him like a damn fish and he simply laughed as he tugged on the rest of his clothes. He pressed his finger to my chin to push my face up so that I was looking him in the eye. "Give me your phone, Bella Bond."

I flushed and handed him the phone that was laying on the breakfast bar without a question. He typed around in it for a minute then handed it back to me.

"Ball's in your court. You have my number." He patted his pockets to make sure all of his belongings were in it. He pecked me once on the lips and strode towards the door. I gawked at him from the same position I've been in with my phone in my hand. He picked up his camera from the table next to the door and turned back to look at me with his hand on the knob. "Call me sometime. I know this isn't the last time I want to see you."

And with that, he was out the door.

 **. /**

After I finally managed to pick my jaw up off the floor and get my mind moving, I decided it was best to get my home organized. I cleaned up the clothes I still had scattered on the floor and put my sheets in the washer. While waiting for my load to finish, I did a bit of yoga and made myself a cheese omelet—pretty much the only thing I knew how to make. As I was sitting in the living room, staring blankly at the TV that was casually playing reruns of _How I Met Your Mother_ , I reached for my phone and sent a quick text.

 _My place. Now_.

I could always count on Alice. Not even forty minutes after I sent the text, she was barging through my door with her spare key and a grocery bag attached to her wrist. She strode over to me as I sat cross-legged on the couch and dropped the bag. She stood in front of me with her hands on her hips.

"What the hell took you so long?"

I sent her a glare and changed the channel with the remote. "What? Was I supposed to call you immediately after he left?"

She sputtered out a "yes!" and threw her hands into the air in exasperation. I rolled my eyes. "I almost ran over here after he hung up on me this morning, but Jasper stopped me because he assumed you'd be going for a second round. This kind of shit needs to be talked about ASAP."

"Well, you're here now. And you're right. I really need to talk about this shit."

I spent the next thirty-seven minutes going over last night and this morning in as little detail as Alice would allow. She broke open the Phish Food Ben & Jerry's and Franzia. She listened to me whine and complain about not understanding why I was feeling this way. She listened to me act like a mushy teenage girl while I went over how his hands felt all over my body. I glared at her as she tried to cool herself down as I was explaining.

"What! You expect me to not feel all hot and bothered when you're talking about this shit?" she would yell.

I stuck my legs up on my coffee table as she sat cross-legged next to me on the couch. I finished my tale of the night, from what I remembered at least, and ventured into this morning. Hungover, confused, still finding him naked in my bed, him walking into my kitchen in just a sheet and kissing me like last night actually meant something to him…

"Ugh!" I screamed and threw my spoon across the room.

Alice jumped and choked on the wine going into her mouth. After she was finished spluttering about, she snapped, "What the hell, Swan!"

I put my face in my hands and slouched back against my couch. "This isn't supposed to happen. This was only supposed to be one night. Why do I feel like this?"

She groaned overdramatically. "Oh, come on!" She stood up and knocked my legs off of the table to get past me. "Stop overanalyzing everything for once in your life! You're bein' as dumb as a bag of rocks."

I opened my mouth to retort, but she beat me to it.

"And do not even pull that 'wah wah my job is all about analyzing blah blah'. Shut up," she whined and threw her hands into the air. "This guy is clearly something awesome. Do not let your brain get in the way of what's right for you."

"My brain always knows what's right, Ali. I know getting myself into relationships is only a prerequisite to heartbreak."

She rolled her eyes. "You're so dramatic. That's just your fear of actually opening up to someone and you know it. I don't see what the big deal is. So what if you want to spend more time with this guy? Let loose and have some fun for once in your life. He already knows what you do for a living and he _still_ wants to deal with your shit so just let him. That's a pretty amazing feat in itself."

I pursed my lips. "Thanks."

"I'm serious, B. Stop making decisions for other people. I know that you're afraid of what men think of your job. I understand, seriously, you know that. And I was lucky enough to find a guy who understood completely. And from what I've heard about Edward, he seems fully ready to get to know you better. And this is after learning you're in the military, watching your two best friends scream at each other, and having a nasty-hot fuck session all night."

Her face was soft as she stared down at me, almost like she was pleading. Her dark brown, almost black, hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and her face was clear of any makeup. She was still beyond beautiful. She was my best friend, and I'm so extremely lucky to have her. But she knows me more than I know myself, I think. I realize that I push people away before they have a chance to hurt me. I even tried to do that with her when we first met, but she refused to be pushed away. Looking back now, I know how big of a mistake that would have been if I really did push her away. Is that what it would be like with Edward?

I looked down at my hands. "I don't know how to handle it. I can't—not since…"

Alice sat down on the arm of the couch next to me and rested her palm on my cheek. "That was so many years ago, B…" she whispered softly.

I licked my lips and shook my head. "I know that. But that shit seriously made me question everything; it fucked with me so bad. Now I'm afraid to be more than a one-night girl to someone."

"I know, but you are worth so much more than that," she whispered as she scooted off of the arm until she plopped down into my lap. I laughed a bit as she sprawled across me and locked her arms around my neck. "Tell me, babe. What did your gut tell you when you met Edward?"

I smirked and narrowed my eyes. "I was drunk. My gut was telling me to have Seth get more vodka."

She didn't look amused. And she didn't respond to my sarcasm.

I sighed. "Something about him is real. I _wanted_ to tell him about myself. I felt proud. And to see the look on his face when I did tell him…it helped me continue talking to him."

She opened her mouth to speak, but I continued.

"He asked me questions about me and you guys and he was intrigued by the answers. He took my picture and I could see the look on his face as he scrolled through them. He showed emotions on his face and I wanted desperately to understand every thought that entered his head."

"Can you picture yourself raising a puppy with him?" she asked seriously.

I hesitated. "What?"

"A cute, fluffy, German shepherd puppy. Can you picture raising one with him?"

For a split second, I imagined a tiny little puppy running around in an enclosed yard. I ran around with him in circles as Edward snapped pictures of us from the side. We both laughed heartily as I ran around with a bone, dangling it in front of the puppy's face. I shook my head to relieve myself of the thought.

Alice grinned. She saw right through me. "Oh, I knew it. What's the pup's name?"

I huffed and pushed Alice off of my lap. She laughed wholeheartedly as she fell to the ground, but caught herself before she could hit her body on the coffee table.

At that moment, her phone went off loudly. Her eyes went wide when she heard the specific ringtone and she groaned out an "oh no" before reaching over to the table to grab it and answer. I watched with amusement as she talked on the phone.

"Momma Whitlock," she greeted with slightly fake enthusiasm. "How are you?"

I could hear Momma Whitlock's southern twang from my position on the couch. I love that woman to death. She is the definition of southern comfort. After everything that woman went through, her happiness and joy of life amazed me. It was no wonder she took Alice in with open arms—they are very similar. They both went through awful times, yet they hardly ever show their downfalls in their personalities. I could count on one hand the amount of times I've witnessed Alice breakdown and let her emotions take over. She is constantly the most outgoing and bubbly person I know. The only other person who could even reach her level is Momma Whitlock. My mother too, I suppose. But she's a whole other story.

"No, momma, I don't know any more about that. Have you talked to your son? Don't ask me, the boy's been madder than a wet hen for quite a while now."

I chuckled at her lame southern phrases and rinsed out the glasses of wine and spoons after I walked into the kitchen. I guess it was a good time to actually clean up my kitchen a bit. After a couple minutes, I could still hear her talking with Momma Whitlock, but her voice got closer as she walked into the kitchen.

"Uh huh, will do, momma. I promise. Okay, give Dixie and Johnny Cash my love now, you hear? Okay, momma. Love you, too. Mhmm okay now. Bye bye."

Alice threw her head back and ended the call. "My lord! That woman needs someone to keep her company. And not just those damn dogs. I know she has full blown conversations with them. I just really hope she doesn't hear them talk back."

I laughed loudly and loaded up the dishwasher with utensils and dishes that have been sitting in my sink for like a week now. I'm not lazy, I promise. I just have a busy life.

"She sure knows how to bring out _Mississippi-born Miss Mary Alice Brandon!"_ I exclaimed in my well-practiced Southern Belle accent.

She rolled her eyes and picked up her stuff from the breakfast bar. "Unfortunately, Mary Alice gets triggered to come back to life when she hears that damn outdated term 'tarnation'."

"You leaving?"

She nodded. "I have to get home and knock some sense into Jasper. He hasn't given his mother a call in about a month and you know how she gets when she hasn't talked to him in a certain amount of time…"

I was already nodding in agreement. "Say no more." I dropped the last dish into the dishwasher and closed it. I walked Alice to the door and gave her a tight hug. "Thank you, _okhty_. I'm not sure what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably be a loner with fifteen cats all named after various Nicholas Sparks characters while speaking Arabic to yourself," she countered promptly.

I narrowed my eyes and pushed her out the door.

"No, but for real. Just let it happen, B; don't go out of your way to deny yourself happiness. And actually _call him_."

"I will, I will," I waved her off.

"You have until we go back to work and I'll be waiting for a mission report at lunch on Tuesday. I'll see you on the Fourth, yeah?" she confirmed. When I nodded, she gave me one last quick hug and made her way out the door and to her flashy Porsche. She honked and I waved as I shut the door, leaned against it, and sighed.

Now I have to come up with some way to contact Edward without being a chicken shit.

 **. /**

Saturday night and Sunday passed in classic fashion. I spent the whole night on my couch watching random movies and episodes of _The Office_ on Netflix before crashing around midnight. Sunday was spent running errands and struggling to walk around outside in the heat and humidity. I even managed to call my parents to see what they were up to for the Fourth.

" _Oh, you know how it is up here, Bella. We'll be lucky if we can even light up some sparklers! The forecast calls for overcast and rain and sixty degrees_ ," Mom complained over the phone.

"Do you remember that one time I extended an invitation to both you and Dad to come visit me for the long weekend and spend time in Virginia for the Fourth? I hope you remember, it was only last month, Mom. You could have easily come here."

She huffed. " _Your father refused to leave work. He's convinced something bad is going to happen this weekend_."

"The worst thing to ever happen to the town of Forks that required a police presence was when Lauren Mallory freaked out on her ex-boyfriend in the school parking lot and threw a shit ton of eggs at his car, then slashed his tires because he refused to take her to junior prom."

" _That was the worst in your time, sweetie. Some serious things went on up here during the 70's. I think someone might have been drunk when they knocked a pole down with their car trying to get to the bicentennial festival on the beach at the reservation_. _Come to think of it, I think he was related to that Mallory girl_ …"

I scoffed. "Oh, sorry. How could I have forgotten about the Great Pole Disaster of '76?"

" _Half of the town lost power because of that downed powerline, Bella!_ "

"Mom, seriously. I really want to see you guys. You know it's difficult for me to get over there. I'll never know when I might get thrown into a mission last minute. But if you guys were here and I had to leave for a couple days, it wouldn't matter. You'd have Alice and Jasper and a beach and really good seafood."

" _I miss you_ ," she whined. She sounded unnervingly similar to Alice. " _I'll talk to your father. Hell, it'd probably be better for you to get on that Skype thing and make him stare into your eyes as you ask. He'll have a hard time denying you then_."

I spent the rest of the day being lazy as all hell and refusing to eat anything other than the pizza I ordered from a local pizza shop. I drank beer and danced around in my underwear while listening to my random playlist that consisted of anyone from Amy Winehouse to Biggie to Foo Fighters.

Monday morning finally rolled around and I was ready to take on one of my favorite holidays. I got up around eight and took a quick shower. I pulled on some white shorts and a patriotic shirt to go along with my red high top Chucks. I wrapped an American flag bandana in a thin band and used it as a headband after I did my hair and makeup to make me look more like the 25-year-old woman I am. I made sure to bring my phone charger and the several random cans of beer I had in my fridge before locking up and making my way to my car.

Alice and Jasper's townhouse already had a couple cars parked in the driveway and on the street when I pulled up. I pulled into my usual spot along the curb and grabbed my stuff out of the car before making my way into their house. The first thing I noticed when I walked into the place was the volume of Jimi Hendrix's version of the _Star Spangled Banner_ being played throughout the house. It was deafening.

I walked into the living room to find everyone who was already here sitting on the couches and jamming out. Jasper was standing by the fireplace rocking an air guitar while Alice sat on the couch and saluted towards him. Victoria was by Jasper, rocking out similarly. Garrett was shot-gunning a Budweiser and his girlfriend, Kate, was sitting quietly on the side watching the incident play out.

Alice caught my movement from the corner of her eye and broke her salute. "Bells!" she screamed and launched herself over to me. "Just in time!"

"For what?" I yelled over the music and followed her into the kitchen. "Looks like you guys started the party already."

Alice snickered and pulled a tray out of the refrigerator. "Garrett and Kate showed up around ten to ten and he brought this so-called 'Freedom Playlist' with him so they popped that shit into the AUX cord and it's been a party since." She set the tray down in front of me on the table in the corner of the kitchen. I looked at the red, white, and blue Jell-O shots jiggling in their little cups in front of me. I raised an eyebrow at her. She grinned and clapped her hands. "I went _full_ Pinterest mode, aren't you proud? I even wore an apron!"

I put a hand over my heart. "Oh, I am so proud of you. This is just what the founding fathers wanted."

She rolled her eyes and shoved a blue one in my hands. "This is blue raspberry Jell-O and blueberry vodka, the white is Pina Colada and Malibu rum, and the red is Fireball and apple Jell-O!"

I sneered. "Keep that Fireball away from me."

Alice waved her hands. "I think Heidi is going to hog all of those. Apparently she's had an obsession with Big Red gum and all that bullshit since grade school so she's been throwing them back since she got here. Garrett brought the damn Budweiser because he's being extra stereotypical today. Victoria brought the whiskey."

"Jameson?"

Alice gave me a ' _duh'_ look and threw back a Jell-O shot. I followed her lead.

Kate walked in at that moment. "Is it normally this American in here?"

I laughed and took the beer Alice handed me. I eagerly popped it open. "Garrett brings out the patriotism in everyone. But normally in this house, we don't wear American flag clothing and jam out to our national anthem willingly."

Alice was nodding along. "You're in for a long day of American patriotism."

 **. /**

A couple hours later and the party was really in full gear. The rest of our friends showed up shortly after I did. Felix and Heidi brought some burgers and hot dogs to grill outside on the deck from right next door. Alec brought his sister, Jane, and a twelve pack of PBR. Seth, our bartender from Calypso and friend, came with tequila and limes, and Angela brought the beer pong supplies.

It was only two in the afternoon and I was already pretty buzzed. Not like that was something unheard of. The Hampton Roads area is one big military town. Between NS Norfolk and Langley-Eutis, there are tons of airmen, soldiers, marines and sailors floating around this section of Virginia. On days like today, the country's birthday, we all tend to go all out. And I guess that's how I am in this position right now.

I'm lying on a hammock outside of their townhouse in the backyard, sipping on a fresh beer. I'm feeling pretty chatty so I'm hanging out with my friend Angela. We're lying down and watching Felix, Jane, Jasper, and Seth play a pretty wild game of beer pong. There's a lot of screaming going on. The sun is shining bright and the temperature is well into the 90's. It's muggy and gross out and I have a constant layer of sweat coating my skin. Alice is manning the grill—something I was initially terrified about, but she seems to be doing a pretty decent job. Victoria is talking with her while taking shots of Jameson. Heidi and Alec are dancing along to various Springsteen and CCR songs while Kate and Garrett make out on a chair off to the side of the yard.

I pressed the cold PBR can against my chest and moaned. "Why couldn't this holiday be in January?"

Angela laughed around her glass of straight tequila and ice. Girl's wild. "This is a typical summer holiday. I couldn't even imagine celebrating it while wearing a damn sweater."

"Is it weird?" I asked suddenly. Angela looked confused. "Being one of only four civilians here?"

Angela shrugged. "You guys are pretty normal for military personnel," she laughed. "Except that guy. He kinda makes me nervous."

I saw she was pointing to Garrett and I laughed. "He's harmless. He may be a crazy buff Marine, but I once saw him tear up because he came across a snake in his backyard. Dude's a baby."

"They've been making out for a long time now," Angela observed quietly and squirmed around the hammock.

"They're about ten minutes away from inadvertently creating an orgy in this backyard," I murmured and sipped at my beer. "I met someone," I blurted out randomly.

Angela raised an eyebrow. "Like, _met_ someone?"

"Like _met in a bar and then went home and screwed around for hours before falling asleep together and getting his number_ met someone."

She started a slow clap after she clamped her thighs around her glass to keep it from falling down. "Isabella Swan. Finally breaking out of that miserable shell of yours?"

" _Oskuti_!" I slapped her arm. She looked frazzled and I realized that's probably because she's not as used to me yelling random phrases in Arabic. "Shut up," I rephrased in English this time.

"Sometimes I forget you're fluent in Arabic…" she trailed off as Alice screamed from the other side of the yard.

"Burgers and wieners are ready for eating!"

I've never seen so many people spring to a table outside the minute after someone announced hot dogs were ready. Garrett pretty much threw Kate off of his lap to get to the food. Seth was already standing by the table making drinks for anyone who requested one.

Angela threw me a look. "He also acts like he never eats."

"Whitlock, why haven't you built a damn pool yet back here?" Alec complained while putting condiments on his burger. We were all sitting around the table they had set up on the deck after everyone flocked to it. "You've got plenty of room and it's hot as hell."

Alice looked pretty proud of herself at the head of the table. She was taking this housewife thing pretty seriously today and knowing that she was throwing a good party, she felt accomplished. I sent her two thumbs up from my seat. She beamed.

"Build it your damn self, Volturi. You're the only one who complains when you come over here."

Victoria snickered. "Yeah, okay. Like he would ever do more than he was physically forced to do."

Alec grimaced while Jane laughed heartily. "Good to know he's like that with everyone and not just me and our father."

"Oh, Alec, honey, you throw a bigger fit than my three-year-old niece when you're told to do something you don't want to do," Heidi giggled and patted his head. Felix huffed and shook his head.

Alec was still frowning at Victoria while she studiously ignored him, continuing to drink her Jameson and eat her hot dog. I knew they were screwing around together a couple months ago, and by the looks of it, it doesn't seem like it turned out so well.

Victoria was a difficult girl to get along with. She comes from an extremely poor family in Brooklyn. Her mom was a drug addict and her father could barely keep any job for longer than a year. She joined the Army on her eighteenth birthday and shipped out three months later, never to go back. I met her last year while I was at work. She works in Fort Eutis and accompanied me on a week-long mission to Iraq while she was deployed over there. At first she was really standoffish and any time she would talk to me, it would be bitchy as all hell.

While we were overseas, a convoy carrying some of her company detonated an IED on the side of the road and were killed instantly. She was in the car behind them and watched her boyfriend take his last breath. When she got back to camp, I was the first one she saw and I leant her my shoulder.

She's still icy towards me every once in a while, but I've gotten her to come to our cookouts and parties every time we have them. She's like an acquired taste—you have to learn her ways and appreciate them in a different manner. She has a strong attraction towards Jameson and that's pretty much all you'll see her drink. Whether it's neat or mixed with something like ginger ale or lemon, I've never seen her drinking anything else. She fits in well with the rest of our group. She fills the role as the lone soldier.

Alec, on the other hand, is very much like the child of our group. He isn't the youngest, that would be Garrett, but Alec is the more immature one of us all. He likes to look at the world as his playground. He takes his status as Petty Officer 3rd Class in the Navy seriously, but outside of work, it's the opposite. He is lazy and crude and procrastinates more than I ever did in college, and that's saying something.

Jasper kind of took him under his wing when he transferred here from Pensacola. His mother was killed by a drunk driver while Alec was in training down in Florida. His superiors were nice enough to transfer him from Pensacola to Norfolk after his training was finished to be closer to his sister, Jane, and his struggling father. Jasper saw the lost kid who lost a parental figure and saw himself. So since Alec moved up here, he's been a part of this group.

Garrett is the marine of the group. And he's the stereotypical one, most definitely. He is massive and has a buzzed haircut. He could easily let it grow out and even get a classic crew cut, but he refuses. He's a part of the Security Force Regiment down at Camp Allen. He met Jasper while at a briefing, and suddenly he was starting to come around more. He loves his country music and classic rock, the American flag, and large, environmentally unfriendly trucks. I've told him many times to keep his diesel-smoke-spewing truck away from me, but he laughs in my face.

Felix is one of Jasper's bosses. He really knows how to flip his switch in-between work and home. At work, I've heard he's one of the hardest dudes in the world. He is the ultimate boss—tough, unforgiving, and stern. But once he's home, or at a gathering with the rest of us, none of that is the same. He's got a nasty streak, but he's a teddy bear. He's kind and sometimes has the best advice, considering he's the oldest of us all at 31 and has been in the military longer than anyone else. And whenever he's around his wife, he softens even more.

Heidi and Felix got married six months ago. We were all in the wedding and it was a cute little ceremony along the shore of the Atlantic. Heidi is our NCO friend, or the non-commissioned officer, meaning she's enlisted. She joined the Air Force right out of high school and has worked up the ranks. She works air traffic control and has one shitty, stressful job.

Angela isn't in any branch of the military. I actually met her when I was at a coffee shop on my day off of work. It was busy and I had a table to myself in a crowded room, so she asked if she could sit with me. We started up a conversation and since then, we've been really close friends. She's a seventh grade social studies teacher at a junior high school a couple miles away. She really gives off that teacher vibe—she's calm, but when things get rowdy around her, she knows how to make everyone chill out. She's really useful to have around a bunch of testosterone-filled guys.

Seth, our bartender friend, was brought in because of our many nights down at Calypso. He was always there when Alice and I decided to rant about random dramas in our lives. Seth kind of became our confidant. He's been coming around our group a lot more and seems to be relaxing a bit, as well.

"Beach around seven?" someone asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I glanced up from my drink and looked around the table. Everyone seemed to be finishing up their food and getting ready for seconds. Alice held Jasper's hand on the table as he ate his macaroni salad and she sipped at her beer. Alec was focusing on his plate while his sister and Victoria were engaged in a conversation. Garrett was whispering to Kate while Felix and Seth were making themselves another cheeseburger.

I glanced at Angela. "What?"

"The fireworks start around ten. I think we should get down there earlier to hang out and chill as the sun sets."

I nodded and stabbed my fork into the piece of macaroni. "Yeah, sounds awesome."

 **. /**

The rest of the afternoon was spent drinking and playing pong and corn hole. After I helped Alice clean up the mess, we joined the rest of the group in the back. We listened to music and told stories. By the time seven o'clock came around, we were all packed up and ready to head to the beach for the final celebration of the day.

We all piled into separate vehicles—but Seth, Victoria, and I drove with Angela in her SUV. We made it to the boardwalk parking lot in good time and unloaded our towels, chairs, and coolers. We found a spot on the beach that wasn't occupied by anyone and set up shop. After everything was in order, I took off my shoes and picked up the Frisbee on the cooler.

"Martin!" I yelled out. Garrett turned away from Kate and looked towards me. "Frisbee?"

He grinned from ear to ear and sprinted towards the shore, away from more onlookers. I followed and we began our game of tossing the Frisbee back and forth to each other.

"Kate's really nice," I commented after throwing the disk towards him. He caught it effortlessly. "If she can handle all of us, she's definitely worth it."

Garrett smiled brightly and threw the Frisbee. "It's been a really great ten months, Swan."

We continued on, chatting lightly and throwing the disk, until he overthrew it and the wind took it behind me. I groaned as he laughed out, "Sorry, Bells!"

I took off and chased the Frisbee down, trying hard not to trip on holes in the sand or anything else. When I stopped where the Frisbee was, a hand was already offering it to me.

"Well, looks like Bella Bond adds Frisbee to her list of capabilities."

I froze. That _voice_.

I squinted up from the disk and immediately looked into his green eyes. Like a magnetic pull.

"Edward," I breathed. I was still frozen. I knew I should have been reaching for the Frisbee, but I couldn't move. He captivated me. "What…" I cleared my throat. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

He looked around him. "I heard from someone that apparently there's this thing called a firework show on the beach? I guess it's some kind of important day today?"

I narrowed my eyes. His sarcasm pulled me out of my trance and I yanked the green Frisbee out of his hand. "Very funny," I grumbled, still not looking away from his eyes. "That's not what I meant."

"I know," he responded easily with a shrug of his shoulder. "My parents told me it's really fun down here, so I decided to try it out."

I heard a throat being cleared at that moment. I turned to my left and saw a legitimate model sitting down on the towel right next to Edward. My eyes widened at her appearance. Suddenly, I hated everything about myself, because it wasn't anything like her. She had wavy, honey colored hair and it flowed down to her mid-back and this wild shade of purple colored eyes. I've never seen anything like it. She had a small smile playing on her red lips as she stared at me.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" I mumbled and trailed off. I looked back at Edward. "I didn't mean to…Jesus Christ."

"Rosalie," he interrupted. He was still looking at me, but he was now speaking to Aphrodite over there. "This is Bella. Bella, Rosalie."

She held out her hand and I cautiously took it. "Bella, it's so nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you."

God damn. Even her voice was beautiful. It was this raspy, deep sounding voice that captivated me. I shivered.

I was confused. By both her words and my body's reaction to this beautiful woman. "Oh?"

Scarlet Johannsson over here stood up and brushed off the sand on her butt. "He even showed me the pictures," she smirked. "Okay, so maybe he didn't _willingly_ show them to me, but I definitely saw them. You're hot."

My confusion increased. Edward's cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

 _What?_

"Um, Rosalie…"

Edward seemed like he was getting frustrated. "Bella, this is my sister. Remember I told you I was hanging out with her this weekend while she's down here from DC?"

A lightbulb automatically flashed on in my mind. Sister.

 _Holy shit. What kind of gene pool is this?_

"Oh!" I exclaimed, probably saying that word too much now. I blushed and turned to Rosalie. "I'm so sorry, I forgot he told me about you and I thought…well I wasn't thinking anything I just…I don't mean I forgot about you—um…"

Luckily, Rosalie saved me from embarrassing myself any further. "Seriously, stop worrying," she giggled. "You play Frisbee?" she asked as she nodded her head down towards the disk in my hand.

That reminded me. I turned around and noticed Garrett was done waiting for me and was now sucking face with Kate.

"Casually, really. It's not like I'm a professional or anything. I mean, I played ultimate Frisbee with friends in college if that counts," I chuckled nervously and glanced at Edward. He was staring right at me. I swallowed thickly and cringed as I noticed just how much word vomit I had because I was nervous.

"Excellent," Rosalie smiled. "Mind if I join?"

My eyes widened. "No, of course not. Garrett though…" I trailed off, peeking back at him making out with Kate. I looked back at Rosalie and Edward. "Actually, do you guys want to come over and hang with us? You already know Alice and Jasper, Edward. We have a lot of alcohol over there."

Edward did that damn crooked grin of his and touched Rosalie's arm. Her smile faltered just for a moment, but then her eyes shined. "You had me at alcohol. I would love to meet new people. Edward, come on."

I watched as they collected their towels and bags. Edward picked up his camera bag and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What? Did you really expect that I'd go anywhere without this?"

* * *

 **Let me know what you think :)**


End file.
